CSI Miami

CSI Miami Season 1

CSI: Miami started in September 2002 and ran until May 2003. Unlike the scientific examiners and lab techs of the original C.S.I. – Crime Scene Investigation, the criminologists of this Miami centred TV spinoff (introduced in second season C.S.I. episode Cross-Jurisdictions) are all ‘proper’ cops. They have done standard police department training, and they usually carry guns. By itself, this lends the Miami show a much-needed sense of verisimilitude in the practical depiction of what its particular unit of crime-busting characters actually do. As law enforcers, rather than only scientists, the Miami squad are more convincing when they start interviewing witnesses or interrogating suspects – and especially making arrests – something which, in all fairness to series’ creator Zuiker, regular scripters, and the principal cast of C.S.I., was seldom believable in the original’s Las Vegas scenario.

Apart from that, what further distinguishes CSI: Miami from its parent show, isn’t just the vastly differing locations (harsh desert and neon-lit casinos are traded for perilous swamps and sun-baked beaches), it’s mainly that the Miami criminologists work in daylight hours, therefore happily avoiding the purportedly humorous vampiric connotations that haunted the Las Vegas team’s night shift. Noon in the alligator-occupied Everglades is such a change of scenery from Vegas’ nocturnal gambling dens that it’s mildly disconcerting to view some obviously comparable storylines unfolding in this spinoff show. Wisely, the team of producers on CSI: Miami have changed just enough little details to ensure that a ‘franchise’ style connection to the original show is obvious (there’s a different theme song by British rockers The Who; but we get the same kind of CGI inserts to illustrate forensic explanations, and scripted quips from the lead actor before the title sequence plays), while permitting the Florida-based variant to assume a certain ‘uniqueness’ of its own.

As with the original C.S.I. show, what marks CSI: Miami out from all other police procedurals and TV detective dramas is the makers’ focus on crime stories to the exclusion of nearly everything else; including mainstream-drama style character development. Scenes of the CSI teams off duty are few and far between. We learn very little about their home lives, and what details emerge are purposely eked out across several episodes, so when odd little bits of info about the main characters’ backgrounds is revealed piecemeal, the keen interest of attentive regular viewers is assured. Instead of the bathos of sequences typically found in soap operas, the writers of CSI: Miami avoid domestic melodrama (except for some victims!) and only show us what the CSI squad do, not (at first, anyway) who these people are. Action speaks louder than words every time, of course.

CSI Miami Season 2

The second season of CSI: Miami originally aired between September 22, 2003 and May 24, 2004.Suicide or murder; missing person or a kidnapping case; poisoning or just an allergic reaction; road rage or car trouble; torture or sadomasochism; ransom drop or clever theft; bus crash or mass slaughter? How about a liquefied corpse in a sports’ bag, a dead scuba diver found up a tree, a drowning in the desert, the psychotherapy of “re-birthing,” or armed robbers in drag? Whatever your taste in mystery or thriller, human drama or moral dilemma, C.S.I. has a grim little story for you. Its tales about a crime lab’s nightshift in Las Vegas cover all kinds of odd and offbeat offences, from mysterious hit ‘n’ run tragedy, and students’ practical jokes gone awry, to suspicious deaths with too many suspects, and bizarre serial killer attacks.

However, this season, there are nagging faults with developments in the show’s typical formula of strictly discipline-related explanations used by Grissom (William Petersen) and his teammates. Rather too much of the scientific dialogue seems written for the characters to inform or educate (well okay, and enlighten, too) viewers about the minutiae of state-of-the-art forensics, and this can often detract from the admirable sense of drama which the show so obviously strives for. Surely, this is not how real life crime scene investigators are likely to converse with each other, except in a classroom? I remain doubtful that this approach to TV scripting is anything more than sheer pedantry on the part of the writers.

CSI Miami Season 3

The third season of CSI: Miami originally aired between September 20, 2004 and May 23, 2005. I watch C.S.I. – Crime Scene Investigation fairly religiously. This is one of my favourite shows, and since it involves my girlfriend’s chosen profession, we tend to drop everything Thursday nights at 9 pm and tune to CBS. But watching the series as it is broadcast doesn’t really allow the viewer to catch the growing plot strings of the season, as filming time occasionally goes over and quite a number of re-runs get dropped into the schedule.

In this season, Grissom’s (William Petersen) inherited hearing loss becomes more of a detriment. He thinks he may have to retire as a CSI if he becomes completely deaf. Also Catherine (Marg Helgenberger) starts to learn the dark secrets of her past. Plus, the lab explodes near the end of the season. Those are the main threads of the continuing story arc. I haven’t had the chance to view the collected season on DVD, but here are the highs and lows from season three.

CSI Miami Season 4

The fourth season of CSI: Miami originally aired between September 2005 and May 2006. The fourth season of CSI begins with episode From the Grave. The season rocked and all the episodes gained good ratings. CSI tries to free a young innocent man sent to jail after harsh interrogation with Frank Tripp. Calleigh, Delko and Ryan are deputed at the same case together and their investigations point to different persons as culprits. Horatio becomes the prime suspect of a murdered woman as he was the last to see her alive. Mac taylor from CSI-NZ comes to help Horatio in a case in Miami. Ryan Wolfe got his eye injured and Delko takes him to the hospital.

Delko’s is arrested on drugs charges as an arrested suspect reported him buying Marijuana. Eric Delko starts a love affair with Natalie and she’s doubtful about pregnancy. Alexx has been trapped in his neighbor’s murder, a child molester. The season ends up with ‘One of Our Own’ where Marisol is killed by a sniper.

Best Episode- Nailed

This is the episode which ranked nine, the highest ranking among all the episodes from the season. The episode is really awesome as a suspect shoots in Wolfe’s eye with nail gun. And Delko comes forward to hospitalize him. After this Wolfe develops visionary troubles and it complexes his investigations.

CSI Miami Season 5

The fifth season of CSI: Miami originally aired between September 18, 2006 and May 14, 2007. It started with the conclusion to the cliffhanger from the previous season finale. It also included Rex Linn and Eva La Rue as regulars from this season, having played the same characters on a recurring basis on previous season.

Season five contains lot many tragedies on the part of CSI staffers. Horatio arrives in Brazil while chasing Riaz, who attacked on Marisol and there he encounters two more bitter truths that Raymond is again missing and later on he finds out that Riaz murdered him much back in time. Another bitter truth is that Raymond Jr. has become drug mule for Riaz. Later on CSI recovers a safe full of photographs of kidnapped women and it comes to light that one such woman CSI was searching since long, is Natalie’s sister Anya. Nick is killed and all the evidences point to Natalie.

Eric gets critically injured and had acute blood loss, but when Fellow officers raise a helping hand, it’s too late. Ryan is found guilty of a crime and he is fired. The season closed with the episode Born To Kill, where a serial killer who dents Y on victims’ chest. Some CSI guys are also his target.

Best Episode- No Man’s Land.

This episode earned the maximum rating 9.1, higher than all the previous seasons. This is the most bloody and action-stuffed episode. Chris Ryder and Matt Cranby are carrying a shipment of guns for destruction, but the truck is been looted, and firing ends up in Ryder’s death. Horatio has to give hostage to an old criminal Clavo and Horatio makes a million dollar withdrawal from his bank to save the life of a young girl in Clavo’s captivation. The episode ends up with a gunshot in Delko’s leg and in Eric’s head he falls down in a pool of blood.